1. Technical Field
The method and apparatus of the present invention relate generally to the use of an edible member to substitute for the purposes of conventional tongue depressors, toothpicks, or to support frozen desserts such as popscicles, ice cream bars or the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to the use of a member made of candy or other edible material. In this case, we refer to "edible" as something which is designed for the purpose of being eaten. One common example of such a material would be confection.
It is currently the case that during a medical examination given to a patient it is frequently necessary for the physician to accomplish a visual examination of the oral cavity. This is always the case when the patient visits the doctor's office complaining of a sore throat or other similar condition. In order for the doctor to accomplish a complete and thorough examination, he or she is required to depress the tongue from its normal, reflex position in order to expose the rear of the cavity. Normally, the tongue has a tendency to pivot upwardly when the mouth is opened, thereby obstructing the doctor's view of the throat cavity. Consequently, the doctor must depress the tongue while the patient opens his or her mouth so that adequate visibility of the entire throat cavity is permitted. An apparatus which performs this function is commonly referred to as a tongue depressor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently, most tongue depressors are fashioned from wood. Typically, these pieces of wood are generally flat and smooth and of generally rectangular shape with rounded ends.
It is well understood by doctors using these conventional tongue depressors, and those to whom oral examinations are given, that such conventional tongue depressors have an extremely unpalatable taste. Furthermore, and even more disturbing, this unpalatable taste, in conjunction with the texture of the wooden tongue depressor, has a propensity to cause the gag reflex. This propensity is most pronounced in children. Clearly such a gag reflex interferes with the conduct of the examination. A more serious consequence of the unpleasantness of the examination would be a reluctance by a patient to seek treatment.
Additionally, the environmental impacts of the use of wood tongue depressors must be considered. While each individual depressor does not require much wood, when the total number of examinations given each day is considered, the amount of wood necessary is large.
Other implements have been suggested as substitutes for the conventional wooden tongue depressor. However, these heretofore suggested substitutes all suffer from similar or additional drawbacks. For example, the use of a stainless steel depressor has been suggested. However, while minimizing to some extent the gag reflex associated with wood, a stainless steel tongue depressor is relatively costly. Because of its relatively high cost, it is not economical to dispose of it after each use. Therefore, it would be necessary to re-sterilize the instrument before any reuse. Clearly, this necessitates considerable additional expenditure of time by the physician and/or assistants.
Consequently, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a tongue depressor does not suffer the drawbacks of prior art tongue depressors such as unpalatable taste and propensity to cause the gag reflex.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a tongue depressor which is made of any one of a number of types of confection.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a tongue depressor apparatus having sufficient rigidity to allow the tongue to be forcibly depressed during an oral examination.
It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide a tongue depressor of generally elongated construction.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a tongue depressor apparatus enclosed in a package having a perforation therein for easily releasing the tongue depressor therefrom.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide an edible tongue depressor manufactured in a variety of confectionery flavors.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a tongue depressor which after the examination has been completed, may be either provided to the patient for consumption or alternatively readily disposed of.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a tongue depressor which does not contribute to the over-harvesting of trees.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a tongue depressor which eliminates or greatly minimizes the gag reflex currently associated with conventional tongue depressors, thereby minimizing the reluctance of patients to come in for oral examinations.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide an edible tongue depressor having a plurality of diagonal lines of increased thickness material to provide additional rigidity and strength thereto.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide an edible tongue depressor of increased environmental friendliness due to its ease of biodegradability.
It is further objective of the present invention to provide an edible tongue depressor having a slightly convex shape to better facilitate examination of the oral cavity while at the same time providing additional structural rigidity.